I LOVE my slow cooker and I am super excited because I just got this new Crock-Pot Slow Cooker after my old one died. Slow cookers are amazing tools for busy cooks, and I love that I can set mine up in the morning and come home to an incredible meal after being at work all day.

Just about once a week, I cook up a whole organic chicken in the slow cooker. Not only does that mean we have a delicious roast chicken dinner once a week but it also means that I can make sandwiches with the chicken for the rest of the week or use the chicken in another meal. I love doing whole chickens in the slow cooker because it is easy and it gives me control over what I put on my chicken (as opposed to buying a rotisserie chicken at the store). I also have control over the type of meat I purchase. The final reason why I LOVE roasting chickens in the slow cooker is because I then get to use all the bones and skin and other little non-edible bits to make my own chicken stock in the slow cooker. Not only is homemade chicken stock better for you than the stuff in the cans or boxes, but it tastes a million times better too!

Whole Chicken in the Slow Cooker

This is more of a method rather than a recipe. Please feel free to play around with it, add spices of your choosing and most importantly, have fun!

Ingredients:

1 5-6 lb chicken (preferably organic)

kosher salt

white pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

Directions:

1. In a clean sink, rinse chicken thoroughly. Make sure to remove the giblets for a later use (chicken stock!). If you are not using the giblets right away, you can freeze them.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

3. Place the chicken breast side down in the slow cooker. I have done the chicken both ways, breast up and down. I think that breast down keeps the breast more moist, but then the skin from the breast side will not get crisp. It’s your call!

4. Generously sprinkle the chicken with seasonings.

5. Cover and cook your chicken for about 8 hours on low. It is done when juices run clear.

6. Remove from slow cooker and enjoy! Mine usually falls apart a bit because it has been sitting on the warm setting for a while after it finishes cooking. The presentation isn’t the most amazing but the taste is outrageous!

DO NOT throw away the liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker or your bones, skin and other little bits of the chicken you are not going to eat once it is cooked. This will all be a part of the slow cooker chicken stock.

Andrea, I love my slow cooker too, and will be checking in to see what recipes I might try. I’ve been making the stock for awhile now, as Dara motivated me to do it and I’m thrilled with it. I love putting celery on the bottom of the crockpot and adding onions, carrots, and fennel around the chicken and a lemon & garlic inside. You can add potatoes, too, and not have to do another thing when you come home. What brand is your slow cooker. I think I’ll need a new one soon.

Hi Carol-thanks for stopping by the blog. I love fennel with chicken as well-haven’t used it in a while though! If you click the link in the first sentence of the post it will bring you to the slow cooker that I use. If you do try any of my recipes please stop back and let me know!

I do this all the time and make the stock also. So easy and even my husband can tell the difference using the organic chicken. I don’t even like the regular and grocery rotisserie chicken anymore. I have never used the leftover juices fro stock, I but I will definitely try that next time.